NEW YORK – Abbott Laboratories announced Thursday that its Architect SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody test received Health Canada authorization and that it will begin shipping antibody tests to Canada this week.

The serology blood test detects IgG antibodies that identify whether a patient has had COVID-19 and runs on Abbott's Architect i1000SR and i2000SR instruments, which can run up to 100 to 200 tests an hour. The test will expand to the Alinity i system and Abbott hopes to expand serology testing to include testing for IgM antibodies in the future, the firm said.